Digital Trail Led Silk Road Probers to Ulbricht

“NEW YORK – One of the messages from the Silk Road darknet drug-trafficking trial is that what happens on the Internet almost always stays on the Internet — and can be retrieved.

Manhattan federal court testimony by IRS Special Agent Gary Alford provided a confirmatory demonstration to jurors Monday as he described the digital trail that led investigators to arrest alleged Silk Road mastermind Ross William Ulbricht.

Ulbricht apparently made a mistake in Oct. 2011, the year the site launched, Alford’s testimony showed. Using a routine Google search of the Internet for information about Silk Road, Alford said he discovered someone who used the online name “Altoid” had posted a message to a bitcoin discussion forum seeking “the best and brightest IT (Internet technology) pro in the bitcoin community.”

Describing a potential job with a “venture-backed bitcoin startup,” the posting directed applicants to send inquiries to rossulbricht@gmail.com. Prosecutors contend that was the alleged Silk Road mastermind’s personal email address.” CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>